The First Date
by kathey'ssis
Summary: Hank's oldest daughter is about to go on her first Date, will Daddy survive? Has he taught his little girl all she needs to know to survive? There will be moments when everyone wonders.
1. Chapter 1

Hank's oldest daughter is about to go on her first Date, will Daddy survive? Has he taught his little girl all she needs to know to survive? There will be moments when everyone wonders.

**The first Date**

Hank sat in the living room of his home watching his daughter dance around him in her first formal. There had been the special Sunday dresses over the years, for Easter and Christmas but this was her first real formal.

Frankly, Hank couldn't really tell the difference, but the reason for this dress was very different than he had ever experienced before. His oldest daughter was going out on her first date.

Oh he had gone through this dating thing with his children before; both of his older sons had been on several dates. Before they were old enough to drive, and even a few times after they got their driver's license, Hank drove them, He had made a point to dress in his suit and wear his dress firefighters hat as he would act like a hired chauffer, opening the door not only for the young lady his sons were dating but for his sons as well. His wife had driven them a few times but most of the time he had been able to do the driving, he'd had to trade shifts a couple of times but that was before he became a captain.

Most of the time he would hang around in the parking lot reading a good book by flashlight while his sons and their dates enjoyed themselves but he knew they knew he could decide to walk in and check on them at any time so he was sure they'd behave themselves.

In Kristen's case her date's older brother would be doing the driving. He had his own date so it was to be a foursome and Kevin had told him that there were several other couples that would be meeting up with them at the dance.

Hank had met Kevin; he came around every once in a while to have Kristen help him with his research papers. He left a good impression when he came, he always used the words please, thank you, yes ma'am, Yes sir, and such.

Kevin had actually asked Hank if it were alright to ask his daughter out before he asked Kristen. He explained that he didn't want to hurt her feelings if she weren't allowed to date yet. The young man's respect for him as Kristen's father went a long ways toward Hank's agreeing to let him take his daughter to the high school dance. It didn't hurt any that his oldest son was going to the same dance and Hank knew he'd keep an eye out for his little sister.

Hank somehow managed to keep a genuine smile on his face as his daughter pirouetted around him on her toes. The real reason for this fashion show was that Hank would be on duty the night of the dance and he wouldn't be here to make the young man sweat while he waited for his date to put the last minute touches on her makeup and hair. That was something he was going to miss but to have his daughter seeking his approval in her choice of dress ment the world to him.

That night, while Hank and Emily were in bed just chatting before sleep, Hank suggested that maybe Kristen could invite her young man home for dinner one night and he could serve and the chef and waiter.

"Honey, I know the boys at least at one point had to deal with you as their driver and you did a wonderful job of making the best of it. Most of their dates thought you were pretty special. But the truth of the matter is that most teenagers are totally embarrassed to have a parent around on their dates."

Emily rolled over in bed and snuggled into her husband's side. "I'll make that suggestion but please don't be hurt if she doesn't take you up on it."

"But Krissy wouldn't be embarrassed to have me around would she, I mean having me serve their dinner couldn't be anywhere as embarrassing as dancing on stage with me could it?"

"Dating is a lot different, and you know it, but I will let her know that you offered."

-0-

The next morning Hank reported for duty a little less rested than he wanted to be and feeling slightly foolish about his inability to sleep the night before. It was just a date and the young man certainly met with his approval, what did he think he was going to do, keep his daughter a little girl all of his life?

Mud all over the engine and squad from an early morning fire and plenty of said mud all over the bay floor and tracked through the station. The A shift had their work cut out for them. During report Hank learned that the squad had actually gotten stuck and had to be pulled out of the mud with the engine. A tired and slightly injured Captain Hookraider apologized for the mess but claimed it would have been a lot worse had he not insisted his men be hosed off before they climbed it the trucks. "Once we got back to the barn everyone was chilled to the bone. We had to deal with that first before we could clean up the equipment, to keep the men from getting sick."

Hank understood well, he could hear the grumbling of the first of his crew to arrive but he would just remind them of the three times this month they left just as big of a mess for their replacements.

The rainy season was upon them and some people just didn't have enough sense to stay out of the rain. Mike had just pulled the engine onto the apron in preparations of hosing it down when the first call came in. At first glance the accident looked to be among the worst they'd ever had but once they'd checked out all of the occupants of the three cars, they were relieved to find that everyone had been wearing their seatbelts and there were only minor injuries.

There was the possibility of internal injuries on one of the drivers but he was stable. It took nearly forty five minutes with the Jaws of Life and other extrication tools to get all of the victims freed. There were two minor head injuries, one possible broken arm and a dislocated shoulder and then the victim with possible internal injuries. Three patients went in ambulances without paramedic follow up while Roy climbed into an ambulance with the possible internal injuries and the dislocated shoulder.

Johnny had just loaded up the last of the equipment and was getting in the squad to follow his partner into the hospital when the sound of crumpling metal caught their attention.

One of the police officers had stopped a car to allow the first tow truck to move into position. Unfortunately the second car didn't stop nor did the one after that. Once again they had a three car pileup and the doors on the middle car were jammed shut.

Hank called it in and Johnny managed to get started on checking all of the passengers.

Johnny had just managed to squeeze his way through the back window of the middle car to work on the driver, a woman complaining of neck pain while the rest of the guys pulled the extrication equipment out again and made short work of getting all of the doors open. Fortunately the ambulance that arrived had a back board because they had used all of the ones off the squad for the last accident.

Hank was helping to calm the teenage daughter of Johnny's neck injury as she watched her mother being pulled from the car and placed on the ambulance gurney. As he walked the young girl over to talk with her mother before they moved to the ambulance Hank noticed the formal gown hanging in the back seat of the car. He only hoped that the young girl he was holding onto was going to a different dance than the one his daughter was going to because it was the exact same dress his daughter had modeled for him the night before.

Hank guided the young girl to the cab of the ambulance as her mother was loaded in the back along with his paramedic. Once the ambulance pulled out Hank went back to the middle car and carefully pulled the dress from the wreckage and made Chet take his dirty gloves off before he handed it to him and asked him to take it to the hospital in the squad and make sure it was given to the girl who had just gone in the ambulance.

-0-

At Rampart, John and Roy were sharing war stories about why it took Johnny so long to get to the hospital when their attention was drawn to a dreamy sigh to see Chester Kelly walking in carrying a formal ball gown and looking as red as the fire engine. Seeing the young girl from the accident, Chet quickly carried it over to the girl and awkwardly handed her the dress. She screamed with joy, draped the dress over one arm and then used the other to wrap around Kelly's neck and after a quick hug that almost gave him a whiplash she kissed him on the cheek leaving behind a pink lipstick mark.

It took just a couple more minutes for John and Roy to finish restocking their supplies during which time Johnny kept looking at Chet and giggling and making him turn redder and redder with each smirk. Finally with supplies in hands the three firemen were on their way.

Before they arrived back at the barn the squad was called out on a cardiac and they were grateful to have Chet on board to help with CPR while they worked to get the drugs into the patient to regain a viable heart rhythm. Since the patient was still less than perfectly stable both John and Roy rode in the ambulance with him leaving Chet to drive the squad once again.

They were on their way back to the station when a call came in for the station to respond to a structure fire, "Finally the kind of response that will dry out my shoes." Chet shook his head as he pulled his helmet on in response to the call.

The fire was in the garage of an old boarded up house, it reeked of arson but they would have to let the investigators deal with proving it. A quick search of the house showed evidence that someone was living there but there was no one at the moment and no victims found from the fire.

When the fire was out and the hose once again loaded on the engine Chet was happy to claim his spot on the engine to return to the station. "Maybe I'll actually make it back to the station this time," Chet commented when he climbed on the engine.

"When you get there Kelly, be sure to wash that lipstick off your face," Hank ordered. "People are going to start wondering just what we're doing when we're not fighting a fire."

Finally around late afternoon the calls slowed down and the station was sitting down to their first meal of the day, dinner. While five men dug into their meal hurriedly not taking time to chew or even taste, Captain Stanley looked at his watch and gave a melancholy sigh. The young man named Kevin would be picking his daughter up to take her to dinner before the dance, just about now, and Hank was at the station instead of home making sure they young man didn't take any liberties as he pinned the corsage on his daughter's dress.

The tones were calm the rest of the evening allowing the men to finally get the station cleaned up. Hank then did look the other way while his men used the reel line hose to soak up most of the mud in the bay then bush it out in to the street with push brooms, both the engine and the squad were hosed down and then quickly washed up with buckets of soapy water and rags while the bay was quickly moped up of any mud residue there was, it did take mopping the floor twice but they finally got it clean, the same for the floors in the rest of the station. Finally around eight that evening the crew was enjoying a movie on TV while Hank made a quick call home to get a report from his wife on how things went when his daughter was picked up for her date.

The last of his concerns were laid to rest when his wife informed him that she was given the job of pinning the corsage to their daughter's dress.

Hank then sat down in the back of the day room while the movie finished. He felt like a fool but he would have rather been sitting in his cold car in a crowded parking lot trying to read a novel by flashlight.

The men had all trickled off to bed while Hank remained in the office, all of his paperwork was done but his wife had promised to have his daughter give him a call when she got home and give him a report on how her evening had gone. While he waited for that call he studied the manuals for his Chief's exam.

Hank had just leaned back in his chair with his hands behind his head, it was now 12:30 p.m. and his daughter had been given a midnight curfew. His call should have come in by now, but his daughter was a good girl he was sure it would come any minute now.

The Klaxons rang loud and clear startling him out of his thoughts. **Station 51, station 98, and snorkel truck 110 multiple cars off the road Palos Verdes Drive near mile post marker 19 between Hillside and Crenshaw Boulevard, watch for police, Palos Verdes Drive near mile post marker 19 between Hillside and Crenshaw Boulevard, Police on scene. **

Before the men were falling out of the dorm room Hank was acknowledging the call. He was already preparing himself for the passengers of the cars off the road to be teenagers. There were several roads near there where dirt roads led up to areas where the more delinquent crowd gathered to consume whatever they legally couldn't and no one should. There was some kind of a call in that location any time there was an activity at any one of a dozen schools in the area, sadly there were increasing incidents were illegal drugs were being used.

"This is not going to be a good call." Hank shared with his engineer what he already knew as he climbed in his seat on the engine. Mike just waited for the garage door to open all the way and then pulled into traffic, with sirens blaring.

Engine 51 was actually the second engine on scene; before they pulled over and stopped they were advised by the captain of station 98 that they were needed on the east edge of the accident and to break out the forcible entry tools. Hank acknowledged the call as Mike pulled the engine into position and then climbed out of the engine calling out orders as soon as the door was opened.

Hank was aware of someone calling "Dad," several times before his men had things under control enough for him to turn in the direction the voice was coming from. What he saw there turned his blood cold.

Kenneth Stanley, Hank's oldest son, was being kept back by a police officer as his date for the evening clung close to his side; terror was etched on both of their faces. In a stunned daze Hank walked over to his son to hear him calling out the last thing he wanted to hear.

"Dad, Kristen was in that car!"


	2. Learning to Breath Again

**Learning to Breathe Again**

Feeling as if he had a knife in his gut, Hank turned to look in the direction his son was pointing to see one of the firemen from station 98 carrying a girl from the car they were working on. He was turned so that all Hank could really see was the miles and miles of ruffles in her dress, the same kind of ruffles Kristen had made fly as she allowed him to hold her hand as she gracefully spun before him the night before. Hank stopped breathing as he realized that she was also being carried in a manner that Hank knew she was dead.

With haste, Hank started moving in the girl's direction when he felt two sets of hands wrapping around his chest and holding him back, as he turned to ask them to let him go he noticed one of them was Chief McConnike, he never turned the other way to see who the other one was.

"You're a bystander on this one Hank," the Chief announced as he moved him behind the line being held by the police and placed him next to his son.

Hank blindly reached out to place a comforting hand on his son's shoulder as he kept his eyes locked on the girl being set down on a yellow blanket and just as a second fireman helped to set her on the ground Hank noticed her shoes. These were bright pink with glitter that reflected the engines' lights.

"That's not Krissy," Hank crooked out still trying to catch his breath, "Krissy, was wearing what looked like high heeled ballet slippers, white with pale pink ribbons that wrapped around her calves."

Chief McConnike took over command of station 51 and once the men knew he was in charge he walked over to the girl that was being covered with a blanket, covered completely with a blanket. As much as Hank was sure the girl wasn't his daughter he needed someone to confirm it for him. He watched as Chief McConnike, the man who had been his captain when he was an engineer, the man who's hat he set fire to while he was under his command, the man who struck terror in him whenever he came around, the man who had tried to embarrass him by organizing the Chief's Christmas party around a Junior high school production of the Nutcracker that he was performing in, next to his daughter.

Hank's eyes were glued on his chief as he lifted the blanket to get a good look at the body under it, after replacing the blanket over the girl's face he turned to give more orders and then walked over to where Hank was obediently standing.

"It's not your daughter," the Chief spoke quickly, relieved himself to be able to give his former engineer the news he knew he wanted more than anything at that moment. "This girl is a red head, looks to be a few years older than your girl. It appears she broke her neck on impact," the chief added as Hank let out a hesitant but relieved breath. "You stay here, we've got this one," the Chief ordered again before walking off to do his and Hank's job.

"Thank you," Hank gasped and took in a slightly deeper breath than the one before; as he closed his eyes and reminded himself that the girl under the blanket wasn't his daughter he also realized that his Chief hadn't heard him. He'd have to make sure he spoke his appreciation again later.

Hank remained rooted where he had been placed and kept his hand on his son's shoulder at his side, but his eyes were locked on the scene before him looking for any sign of his daughter being lifted from the wreckage.

Breathing was becoming easier as he noticed the two cars were full mostly with girls. There were two boys in the one his men were working with and five girls in the back seat, working to untangle and divide all the full dress skirts and ruffles seemed from his position to be their biggest problem, the girls were latterly stacked two deep and packed in by their dresses.

The other car only had one boy, he had been driving, and six girls in the back seat. It looked as if the girls were doing their best to stay as far away from the driver as they could. That was the car they pulled the one and thankfully only fatality from. The medics of 98 were working on another girl that had what appeared to be a shoulder injury while the linemen were splinting a couple of arms and one leg. Ambulances were arriving in fleets and being filled with as many patients as they could possibly pack in them. Hank noticed Vince Howard sitting in the ambulance talking to the girls, getting out just before the doors were closed and the girls were sent on their way to the hospital for further evaluation and to call their parents.

Hank was aware of his son taking off his suit coat and draping it around the shoulders of his shivering date. He managed to remind him about the blankets that were kept in the trunk of the car and took over keeping the young girl company while his son retrieved them. Hank suggested that they might be more comfortable waiting in the car but neither his son nor his date were willing to leave the place where they could see everything that was happening.

Hank noticed Vince talking to the Chief and that the Chief directed the police officer in his direction.

Vince's approach was slow and deliberate; Hank had seen that posture before and knew the man was thinking hard of the best way to tell him what he knew. "Your daughter isn't with this batch. None of the girls know her by name but the story they're all telling me is that the guys they were with all got together and ended up in some area up one of these dirt roads. They were all drinking and popping pills but these girls demanded to be taken home until two of the guys were told to drive them home so they'd quit spoiling the party. Unfortunately, both drivers were impaired. I just heard our dispatch send out two cars responding to a call from another call box up the road a few miles and I just heard them dispatch six cars and a paddy wagon up the dirt road from there. Maybe your daughter is among one of those groups. I've put out a bulletin on your daughter and we should know fairly soon if she is."

Terri, Kenneth Stanley's date spoke up hesitantly. "The same thing happened to a friend of mine a couple of months ago. She and two other girls managed to lock themselves in one of the cars until morning when a police officer found them after everyone else had left. Apparently the car they were hiding in had been stolen." She hung her head then turned to look at her date's father out of the corner of her eye before she quietly added, "two other girls were raped that night."

"Dad, Terri is the one that alerted me that the guy that was driving the car Kristen was riding in was one of the guys that took her friend. We were coming up here to try and find them so I could get Kristen away from them but we weren't sure which road they might have taken so I got the idea to call the police. I was on the roadside call box talking to the police department when I saw these two cars drive by. It looked like they were trying to drag race, I told the police and gave them as much of the license plates as we could remember then waited for a police officer to come by and talk to us before we found out about the accident." Ken was starting to get emotional but fighting it as hard as he could in the presence of his date. "I thought for sure Kris was in that car."

"We'll find her," Hank assured his son, "we'll find her." He then took in and let out a hitched breath as he himself fought to control his emotions. He realized one thing at that moment; it was a lot easier to keep busy dealing with a crisis than to stand around watching someone else do it. Still he knew that if he had been in the Chief's place he would have done the same thing he did.

The last of the victims were being loaded into the back of police cars when another police car pulled up next to one of the squads. One of the police officers got out and called for a medic drawing Hank's attention to the car. In the back were two girls with one young man in between them. Hank barely noticed another police car drive by with three girls in the back seat.

Hank started making his way to the police car that had asked for a medic and since no one was restraining them Kenneth and his date followed one step behind him.

John Gage arrived at the police car before Hank did and once the back door was opened John was quickly on his knees behind the open door.

Once Hank got close enough to see the tears he had been holding back came forth as he managed to somehow get around his paramedic without pushing him out of the way and wrap his arms around his daughter.

Kristen quickly returned her father's embrace and held on tight, she was upset but otherwise alright except for the cut on her foot that paramedic John Gage was quickly bandaging.

While John bandaged, Kristen explained to her father how she thought she was being taken home but instead wound up in some mountain camp ground. She was with several of the girls that wanted to be taken home but when too many of them were loaded into two cars that were going to be driven by someone who had been both drinking and popping pills she felt it was safer to walk down to the main road and call for help from one of the roadside call boxes. She knew there was one every quarter mile along the main road and felt certain that was the safest way to go.

Walking on a dirt road in high heels and a floor length dress was next to impossible so after she rolled her ankle with a misstep she took off her shoes and walked stocking footed while she held her dress up with her hands. While walking, she managed to step on a broken bottle on the road side cutting her foot just before they reached the first call box.

As John finished his bandaging job, Hank praised his daughter for making the right choices and gave her date, who was sitting in the middle of the back seat of the patrol car, an even glare.


	3. Facing Your Date's Father

**Facing Your Date's Father**

As John applied the last pieces of tape to the bandage on Kristen's foot he informed his captain that his daughter was going to be alright but that her foot did need further medical attention. "She's going to need some stitches for sure and there might still be some glass in her foot that will need to be cleaned out. Also judging by the swelling in her ankle the doctor just might want to take a few x-rays."

Chief McConnike was there, with a comforting hand on his underlings shoulder, listening to the report that was being given and was quick to make assignments.

"Well we have a shortage of ambulances right now; it could take as long as an hour to get one up here for your daughter, are you up to driving, Hank?"

"Yes sir,"

"You're sure about that, we don't need any more accidents to deal with tonight."

"Yes sir. I'm fine sir, at least I'm fine now, sir."

"Gage, is there any reason this young lady needs a paramedic with her?"

"No sir, she just needs to be transported to a family doctor. Giving the time of night I would recommend an emergency room. I don't think that cut should wait till morning to be looked at."

"All right, I'm going to suggest that you go ahead and sign your daughter into your custody and then use your car to get her to the hospital." The Chief orchestrated the action he thought was best. "Correct me if I'm wrong but I see this as a non code R response, no driving over the speed limit."

"That should be fine, sir," John assured both his captain, and the girl's father, as well as the Chief that a normal drive time was just fine.

"I'll meet you at the hospital when I'm done here and we'll talk about your return to duty."

Hank gratefully and gracefully accepted his dismissal and signed the required papers, one for the fire department and one for the police department. He then reached down and lifted his daughter into his custody.

Before she was pulled from the back seat of the police car, Kristen slipped her date's jacket off of her shoulders and handed it back to him. The young man had yet to take his eyes out of his lap and definitely hadn't been able to look in the direction of his date's father. Hank thought about the young man for just a moment, just long enough to realize that the police would get him home and that he would be alright. That the young man had been picked up with his daughter and the other girls that had chosen to walk out said a lot for his innocence. Right now Hank had his daughter to worry about.

Hank simply slipped one arm around his daughter's shoulders and the other under her knees. The volume of dress material around her knees worried him slightly but he just compensated by gripping her legs and focusing on holding there. For her part, Kristen placed on arm around her father's shoulders and then used the other to take a hold of her dress and hold it out of her father's face as he carried her to the family car.

Kenneth was quick to move ahead and open all of the doors, while his Dad was easing Kristen into the back seat Kenneth helped his date into the front passenger seat.

"I'll be driving," Hank said to his son, somewhat confused as to why he put his date in the front seat.

"Sure Dad," Kenneth responded by slipping into the back seat next to his sister and once she was seat belted in he carefully lifted her injured foot into his lap. Hank smiled at that. The blanket that had been warmed by Terri's body heat was given to Kristen to keep her warm while Terri retained Kenneth's jacket around her shoulders and Hank climbed behind the wheel and they were off.

Once the car was in motion, Hank felt as if he wasn't really there. Terri turned and reached out to hold Kristen's hand as Kenneth did everything in his power to keep his sister's feet comfortable and protected. The conversation was mostly repeatedly asking Kristen if she was alright or if she was warm enough. Then Terri started to talk.

"Well those nylons are definitely toast. Too bad all guys don't have a Dad like yours. All my friends that went out with your brothers talked about how neat it was to have your dad for a chauffeur. He was really cool to dress up in his suit and hat and treat them so special. All the other girls were jealous, even me."

Hank could feel his cheeks warming slightly at that statement then turned to make eye contact with his son through the rear view mirror. "Ken, as soon as we get to the hospital you need to call Terri's folks and make sure they know she's alright within the first ten seconds of the call."

"Yes sir," Ken responded to his father's command with a slight grimace at the thought of talking to his date's father and explaining to him why he was late getting her home.

"Oh and when you're done talking to Terri's folks you better call your mother and tell her the same thing. Never mind, I'll make that call," his father said, changing his mind.

Once at the hospital, Hank parked next to the emergency entrance and once again moved to carry his daughter. Before he lifted her from the back seat, Hank handed the keys over to his son. "As soon as you call Terri's folks will you come back and move the car over into that area?" Hank pointed to some parking spaces away from the immediate area.

"Yes sir," Ken responded and once his lap was relieved of his sister's feet he moved to be the gentleman his father had taught him to be and helped his date from the car before walking beside her behind his father who was carrying his sister.

Hank was quickly greeted with a wheel chair to place his daughter in but he took one look at it. "I'm not so sure her dress will fit in that thing. Maybe you better just tell me where you want her."

Fortunately it was now after two a.m. and most of the patients that frequented the emergency room were long gone. Hank was led to a treatment room at the end of the hall as the nurse apologized for the long walk.

"Ma'am, I'm a firefighter this is nothing compared to some of the other carrying I've done," Hank responded while sharing a smile with his daughter.

Once he set his daughter down on a treatment bed Hank laughed at the way her dress cascaded down both sides of the bed. "I better give your Mom a call and let her know you're accounted for and have her bring you something a little less ruffled to change into."

Hank stayed as two nurses went to work on his daughter, one gathering vitals the other cutting the bandage away from her foot. The nurses were discussing the need to get her into a hospital gown when Dr. Brackett walked in.

Kell Brackett took one good look at the dress and smiled. "Is there room for me in here with all of these ruffles?" he joked. "We've seen quite a few of these beautiful dresses in here tonight; this one seems to have fared better than most of them."

Kell then took a good look at Kristen's now unbandaged foot. "There's a lot of dirt in the wound. I'm going to want to wash it out extensively, we better get an x-ray before we go too far; there is a lot of swelling.

Just then a student nurse entered the room with a clip board in her hand and approached Hank Stanley. "Sir, we need to get some information on your daughter."

"Um, yeah," Hank reached out and took the clip board from the nurse, "Krissy, honey, will you be alright here while I go call your Mom and fill out the paperwork?"

"Yes Daddy," Kristen spoke with surety, "I'll be just fine."

Hank felt confident that his daughter hadn't been too traumatized and left the room as the nurses were starting to help her out of her dress and into a much less room filling hospital gown. Without asking he just walked into the doctor's lounge and picked up the phone there and called his wife.

-0-

While Hank was settling his daughter into a treatment room Kenneth was going through his pockets for telephone change. After helping his date into a chair in the waiting room where there was an empty chair on either side of her to accommodate her dress, Ken moved toward the pay phone, every ounce of the confidence he was showing was a bold faced lie in acting. He picked up the receiver and dropped the dime in the coin slot then hesitated for a moment.

"Terri, what's your home number again, I can't remember it."

Terri called out her home phone number secretly grateful Ken was going to be the one to break it to her father where she was and why she was late getting home.

Ken dialed the phone number and swallowed hard as he heard the phone ring. It was picked up after the first ring, and a very panicked "Hello," was heard on the other end. Ken had been hoping Terri's mother would answer the phone but it was her father.

"Mr. Baxter, sir, this is Kenneth Stanley, Terri's all right honest." Ken actually pulled his watch into view making sure he got those last four words in the first ten seconds. "We're at Rampart General."

Terri could hear her father screaming from across the waiting room.

Ken was quickly aware that his last four words had more than canceled out the four before. "No sir, she's not hurt, not one little bit, everything is alright honest. It's my sister who's in the hospital." Ken quickly spoke out but was still holding his breath after he stopped speaking. "Yes sir, Terri's fine honest." Ken then held the phone toward his date. "You better talk to your Dad; I don't think he believes me."

Terri got up from her chair and in her long full dress it looked as if she floated to the phone. "I'm fine Dad, there's not a scratch on me. Ken's sister just got in with a bad group and we followed them to find out where they were going so we could tell the police where to go to get Krissy back. No Dad, Krissy didn't do anything wrong, neither did her date, it was her date's big brother who was driving. She was real smart though she just made him let her out and she walked back to one of those emergency phone thingys you see along the road and called for help. Her dad was working at a car wreck just up the road so the cop that picked them up took her there to get her foot looked at."

There were a lot of questions asked and answered and then Mr. Baxter informed his little girl that he and her mother were on their way to get her. When Terri told Ken her father was on the way he felt a very large lump in his throat and was sure he was about to get a stomach ache.

-0-

In the Doctor's lounge Hank sighed as the phone was picked up on the first ring. "Relax every thing's going to be alright," Hank started out the second his wife gave a panicked 'Hello'. "I've got Krissy here at Rampart, but aside from a swollen ankle from falling off her heels and a cut on her foot from stepping on a broken bottle while she was trying to walk without them she's just fine. I'll tell you all about it when you get here. Krissy's going to need a change of clothes; that dress of hers will not work with crutches." Hank listened as his wife came to terms with the news she was given. She almost hesitated to tell her husband that their son wasn't home yet either.

"Ken's here with me, so is Terri," Hank was reminded to tell his wife about their son. "Ken's calling Terri's parents as we speak. They're both just fine. Ken followed the car Krissy was in to find out where they went and then called the police from one of those road side fire phones."

Hank and his wife talked a moment more as Emily calmed down. Then she remembered that Ken had her car so she would have to figure out a way to get to the hospital. "Just call a cab, Em, and then you can drive your car home. I'm sure Terri's parents are going to come pick her up; you can take Krissy and Ken home when they get Krissy's foot patched up." Hank turned to lean against the wall as he continued to listen to his wife get her breathing under control. When he looked up he noticed Roy sitting at the table in the middle of the room sipping on a cup of coffee. Hank noticed the shared relief on his paramedic's face and gave him a wave of acknowledgement before turning his attention back to the phone and his wife.

Hank was very aware that his wife must have been pacing the house for hours now worrying herself sick about her wayward children, but he was grateful she hadn't been at the accident scene seeing the worst that could happen and wondering if their daughter was among the wreckage. "Krissy did everything right when things got out of hand, I'll give her that." Hank unintentionally let on that not all was right in the world. "There were several others that benefitted by her clear head and sound judgment."

When the phone was hung up Hank blew out a deep breath and reminded himself just how lucky he was and how smart his daughter had been. He then looked over at Roy. "Your partner is finishing up at the accident scene, he should be here soon."

"Did the Chief relieve you from duty?" Roy asked as he pushed a chair out for Hank to sit down in.

Hank walked over to the offered chair but didn't set down, "He hadn't decided yet when he let me drive Krissy in to have her foot looked at. He'll be here, probably about the same time as your partner and he'll decide then." Hank gave the papers in his hand a good looking over. "Look, DeSoto, I'm really not trying to be antisocial but I better go find my son and make sure arraignments are made to get his date home, and make sure he won't be beheaded for keeping her out this late." Hank smirked at his own joke and turned to leave.

"I'm glad I've got a few years before I have to deal with all this dating business," Roy responded to his departing leader.

"Enjoy the time Roy," Hank turned to respond, "but when the time comes, make sure they know you'll willingly come get them if anything goes wrong. Get them first and ask questions later, but whatever the reason, never forget to tell them that you still love them."

Hank managed to get sight of his son as soon as he stepped into the hall, Ken was nervously watching as his date talked to her father on the phone. Hank managed a laugh as he watched his son swallow hard at something his date said to him and then noticing his father down the hall. Ken reached into his pocket and pulling the keys from his pocket and headed out to move the car like his father had told him to do.

"Did you get a hold of your folks?" Hank inquired of Terri when he met up with her in the waiting room.

"Yeah, he and Mom are coming to get me. How's Krissy?"

Hank looked down the hall to see the portable x-ray machine moving in through the door to Kristen's treatment room. "They're going to get some x-rays just to make sure her ankle isn't broken then they'll wash out the cut on her foot good and sew her up. Last time one of my men had a similar cut it took the doctor most of the night to get him all sewn up."

"I guess it's a good thing my Dad's coming to get me then, I'm sure Ken wants to stay with his little sister." Terri nervously stood at Hank's side for a moment as Hank started writing Kristen's name and address on the forms in his hands. "That was a really smart thing Krissy did to get out of the car and walk away. I had a bad date like that once; I just threw a fit till he agreed to drive me home. I never thought of the possibility of him crashing the car on the way. I was more worried what my Dad would say if he caught me with the guy and his stuff." Terri stopped talking and looked down at her fidgeting fingers at her side.

"The most important thing for you to remember, Terri, is that your father loves you, more than life itself your father loves you. He only wants the best for you and he'll do anything in his power to keep you safe."

"Does that mean he won't be mad if I call him from the dance to come get me?" Terri clearly wanted to know the answer.

"Oh, he'll be mad alright, but not at you, he'll be mad at your date." Hank smiled.

Ken returned from moving the car and sat next to Terri nervously shifting in his seat and tapping his feat on the floor. Hank sat down across from the two and fought to keep a straight face as he turned his attention to Krissy's admitting papers. He was just reaching for his wallet to get his insurance information when Chief McConnike walked through the door.

"There you are, Hank, how's your girl?"

"Gage called it," Hank responded jumping to his feet in front of his superior. "They're taking x-rays now and then they'll start washing out the cut on her foot and sewing her up." Hank notice John Gage slipping in behind the Chief and move toward the doctor's lounge in search of his partner.

"Well, your engine is stood down for the time being so I see no reason why you can't stay here until they get your daughter sewn up. I'm sure glad she wasn't the one under that blanket."

"Not nearly as much as I am," Hank sighed.

"That dress was sure a popular one tonight. I thought girls went to great lengths not to wear the same dress as anyone else," McConnike commented as he shook his head in wonder.

"Why is the engine stood down? If it's because you can't get a replacement for me, I'll be able to return to duty as soon as my wife gets here."

"No, No, if that was the case I'd just put Stoker in charge, there's only a few hours left in your shift." McConnike explained. "Once we were finished at the accident site the police requested some extra manpower at the other site. When we got there the party was in full swing with more kids hopped up on whatever they were hopped up on than there were police officers to hold them down and cuff 'em. While the firemen were helping to corral them one of the lovely persons there threw a rock at the engine and shattered the windshield on the driver's side.

"Stoker managed to get it back to the barn alright but I sure wouldn't want him to be on an emergency response with that limited of vision. I've already called the repair garage, they keep a few of those windshields in stock, they'll be out to replace it in about an hour, it will take them an hour to get the job done and then it needs to sit for two hours to let the glue dry. The way I figure it that's about the time the next shift should be taking over. After tonight I feel your team deserves a bit of a break."

"Thank you sir," Hank spoke humbly, "for everything you've done tonight."

"Don't mention it," the Chief turned somber, "I'm just glad everything turned out all right."

"For me it did," Hank matched the Chief's somberness, "There are still parents somewhere that aren't exactly getting good news tonight."

"I'm just glad I'm not the one who has to tell them."

"Amen."

"Terri!" the cry came from the emergency entrance as Terri's mother hurried in to wrap her arms around her daughter even though it was slightly awkward because she carried a change of clothes for her daughter in her arms.

Hank looked back and noticed his wife hurrying to his side, a small over night suitcase in her hands. "The Baxters called as soon as you got off the phone and offered to give me a ride," she quickly explained.

Hank reached out and offered his wife an arm and she was quickly at his side where he could hold her tight. "They're taking some x-rays of her foot before they start to work on it. We should be able to go in and sit with her in a few more minutes."

As Hank comforted his wife he noticed Mr. Baxter twirling his keys around his finger as he walked, his face a schooled silent growl. Being a father himself Hank was quick to recognize the look on the man's face as being more of a bark than a bite. Rather than to step in Hank allowed his son to face the father of his date on his own.

"I'm sorry, sir," Ken spoke with all the terror of a boot facing his first mistake in duty. "Your daughter was the one who told me about the guy driving the car my sister was in, I'm real grateful that she did but now I realize that I should have had her call you from the dance and taken some of the other guys with me to go find my sister."

Mr. Baxter kept the stern look on his face for a few moments longer and then let out a forgiving sigh, "I guess I can't expect you to have thought things completely through at the time. But it says a lot that you've come up with a better plan if a similar situation were ever to arise again. Terri doesn't look any worse for wear."

Hank smiled as his son let out a relieved sigh, "But," Mr. Baxter spoke in a tone that brought his son back to full attention, "since you were late getting my daughter home tonight you have to wait a full week before you're allowed to ask her out again."

Hank had to turn his head to hide his silent laughter, at which point he came face to face with Chief McConnike who was sharing his glee. A whole week on his son's current dating schedule was no real hardship.

"Can we still get together to work on our science paper that's due next Friday?" Ken gulped hard after asking.

Mr. Baxter rubbed his chin in thought for a moment that Hank was sure was an act. "I guess, but only if you come to our house where I can watch you to make sure you two behave yourself."

Hank noticed the x-ray machine pulling out of his daughter's treatment room and after excusing himself, took his wife by the hand and headed down the hall to check on his daughter once more.

The doctor returned when the x-rays did and there was evidence of glass and some small rocks in the wound. Dr. Bracket talked with Kristen and her parents for a few moments, explaining that because local anesthesia wouldn't last long enough to get things completely cleaned out that the best way to deal with the foot was to take her to surgery and clean it out under general anesthesia. "Barring any unforeseen complications she should still be able to go home once she's fully awake, first thing in the morning," Dr Brackett added.

Of course both Hank and Emily quickly agreed to what the doctor thought was best for their daughter.


	4. And Then

**And Then**

Mr. and Mrs. Baxter volunteered to take Ken home and stay with the rest of the Stanley children for the night. Emily had left her next oldest son in charge but they all felt better having an adult around.

The surgery took a couple of hours but when he came to report, Dr. Brackett made it very clear that he had just been extra thorough in cleaning out the wound and that he had started her on a prophylactic anti-biotic to prevent any infection in the wound.

Once Kristen was awake and settled into an observation room someone from the police department came by to get her statement. Kristen was then expected to stay at the hospital for another hour to finish the IV antibiotics that were meant to give her a boost before the oral antibiotics started to kick in.

Hank asked the police officer for, and was given, a ride back to the station. On the way the officer told him plenty he really didn't want to know. Once at the station he reported to his crew that his daughter was going to be just fine then spent a little over half an hour finishing up the shift reports and took in the pile of broken windshield that was being swept up after the new one had been put into place.

When the next shift reported for duty and the new captain had been briefed on the special care the new windshield was going to need for the first twenty four hours, Hank returned to the hospital in time to help load his daughter into his wife's car, along with a now empty overnight bag, one slightly dirty party dress, complete with a pair of high heels that looked like ballet slippers, a pair of crutches and a bag of prescription medications.

Hank then followed his wife home and while Emily went ahead of him to open all of the doors, Hank once again carried his daughter into her room and helped her mother settle her in with a few extra pillows to keep her comfortable. Since it had been a long night and the pain medicines were doing their job, Kristen was soon asleep. Having had a very long night himself, Hank was eager to climb in his bed and also go to sleep but he did have a few things to take care of first.

The two youngest of the Stanley children were quietly eating cornflakes at the kitchen table, each time they crunched into their breakfast they looked fearful in the direction of the living room. Rather than to ask his children what they were looking at Hank chose to go into the living room himself, having a pretty good idea who was in there.

He was slightly surprised, on the floor behind the couch was his son Kenneth, stretched out with one of the throw pillows from the couch under his head and the blanket that was usually over the back of the rocking chair covering him. It was clear by the smoothness of the blanket over him that he hadn't pulled it in on himself.

In the recliner in the corner was Mr. Baxter. The chair was reclined and the foot rest up but Mr. Baxter's eyes were open. It looked very much like he had just woke up and was still trying to convince himself not to just go back to sleep.

"How do you like your coffee?" Hank spoke softly to the man in his recliner.

"Sugar and cream," Mr. Baxter responded in a hushed tone as he slowly pushed the recliner into an upright position.

"I'll get it," Emily said behind her husband, "it will be just a minute."

Hank sat down on the sofa and looked at his sitter. "Thank you for watching after my kids, were there any problems?"

Mr. Baxter shook his head and proceeded to stretch.

"Is there a reason my son is asleep on the floor behind the couch?"

"I'm sure there is," Mr. Baxter spoke softly so as not to wake the boy up. "But he didn't reveal to me what it was." The man twisted his head and Hank heard a few snaps, crackles and pops. "Terri fell asleep on the sofa there and then he just sort of disappeared behind the couch, when I looked at him he was out. It didn't feel right the two of them sleeping that closely so I sent Terri and her mother home."

Hank's eyebrows shot upward and then he gave a nod of his head as he looked over the back of the couch at his son on the floor. "I can appreciate that."

"I, a, figured that since there weren't any babies in diapers around here, I could handle just about anything that might come up." Mr. Baxter continued to talk as he stretched. "I think I might have frightened your other children though, waking up to a strange man in their dad's recliner. It was kind of cute watching them check their brother over to make sure he was breathing and all before they went and helped themselves to some breakfast."

Hank smiled at the mental picture that came to his mind. "After Emily fixes you some breakfast I'll give you a ride home."

"No breakfast, just coffee," Mr. Baxter commented. "I want to get home to my wife."

Just then Emily came in with a tray filled with coffee mugs, creamer and some sugar, with a few cookies on the side. "I'm sorry I don't have anything fresh," Emily started to apologize for the store bought cookies on the tray.

"I completely understand," Mr. Baxter tried to stop the apology as he reached out for the much needed cup of coffee that was being handed to him. After a cautious sip of the hot brew, Mr. Baxter looked at his hosts again giving a nod of his head toward the sleeping boy on the floor.

"He hasn't been asleep long. Both he and Terri talked for quite a while after we got here. They really needed to, I think. They told my wife and me about the car accident where they met up with you and how they thought your daughter was in one of the cars.

"I might have had a rough night wondering where my daughter was, but it didn't take me long at all to realize that mine was nothing compared to yours." Mr. Baxter paused to take another sip of coffee.

"I just thought you might like a heads up that he'll probably need to talk more about what happened and what he saw, I know my daughter will."

"Thank you," Hank responded. He had never intended to say anything about the accident; he made it a practice not to bring the horrors of his work home with him. He hadn't stopped to realize that his son might need to talk about what he'd seen though.

"Terri told me what you told her before we arrived at the hospital," Mr. Baxter continued, "I want to thank you for what you said, not just for her but it got me to thinking a little too. I'm not sure why, but kids seem to believe that stuff more if it comes from someone other than a parent."

"You're right about that," Hank added between sips of his own coffee, "And I don't completely understand it either."

"Terri tells me that the kid that was driving your daughter is a real bad apple." Mr. Baxter imparted information he had and knew he'd want to be told.

"Yeah, the police officer that took Kristen's statement talked to me some." Hank elaborated between sips of coffee. "He said they've been trying to get enough evidence on him and his step father for some time now. Kevin, the boy that asked Kristen out, was able to give them all the information they needed to get a search warrant and that gave them everything else they're going to need to put the father and step son away for a long time. I guess they're not only drug dealers but they grow and cook the stuff as well, they use gatherings like the one last night to hook new buyers for their crap." Hank hung his head and looked at the floor for a while to control his anger. "Kevin's parents are divorced and his dad remarried the other kid's mother. Kevin has only lived with him for about five months, seems his mother is quite ill back east somewhere where they were living and the social workers there didn't think she could properly care for him while she goes through whatever treatment she's getting. I've agreed to testify at his hearing day after tomorrow; it will give me a chance to tell him that I appreciate that he walked out with my daughter and the other girls. Then it looks like he'll be placed with a maiden aunt and her family until his mother is well again or he's old enough to be on his own, which ever happens first."

When each of the men had consumed two cups of coffee, Hank shook his son awake just enough to get him into his own bed before driving Mr. Baxter home. He then spent the rest of the day trading off with his wife between napping and taking care of the kids.

Ken did need to talk more about what he had seen at the accident site and he asked his father repeatedly why kids did such stupid things. Hank listened and did a lot of back rubbing but he wasn't able to give anything that ever remotely resembled a good answer to his son's question.

"Are you ever going to let Kristen date again?" Ken asked when he'd talked everything else out.

"I don't think it would be fair to punish her for a mistake someone else made, do you?"

"No," Ken was quick to ask, "I just thought, well, it's just that this Kevin kid was real nice and all but that didn't keep her safe."

"Sadly it's difficult to keep anyone totally safe; there are even dangers here at home that I can't completely control. I have to just do my best to teach you and your siblings what to stay away from and then trust that you've learned what I've tried to teach you."

"And if we don't?" Ken questioned not only his father but himself and his siblings.

"Then I'll be there as your father, to offer my love and support to do whatever I can to help you correct your mistakes. Providing, of course, you don't make a mistake that you can't correct."

"Is that why you let me do all the talking with Terri's father?"

"Yep, that's why. Once you realize you're being trusted with a man's most treasured possession, I trust that you'll never do anything reckless of foolish with that possession and that you'll do everything in your power to return her in the same condition as when she was placed in your care."

-0-

It was three months before Kristen wanted to date again. This time Hank made an effort to meet the young man's parents and then as transportation options were being discussed Hank quickly volunteered to do the driving.

It was nothing fancy this time around, just a movie. Hank actually enjoyed himself sitting in the parking lot reading the book the movie was made from so that he, his daughter and her date could have something to talk about at the malt shop afterwards.


End file.
